Wall construction and ground device therefor



ALLACKEY WALL CONSTRUCTION AND GROUND DEVICE THEREFOR Filed Jan. 24,1939 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I lN EN TOR Al exanderl'adr 6y Feb. 3, 1942.

Feb. 3, 1942. A. LACKEY WALL CONSTRUCTION AND GROUND DEVICE THEREFQRFiled Jan. 24, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

INVENTOR Ill 4 1 0/ AZ exanderl a'ckey I atented Feb. 3, 1942 Walls;parti iw L'L cossiiieemnmew m ,7 I DEvIoa Tnm a manna-eimay, Newton,Mass; assisnor'fto 4 The Consolidated ExpandedMetals' Companies.

Wheeling, W. i V Virginia} lai s and a grqu q device 'thereforb It'rela'tes' mere;

particularly to devices for u seiin' the construction of lath andplaster "walls,- and 's ec'ia11y;de'v es- -foi 'the' attachment ertriinfor the ure n re- -Difficulty' has eretofore "been en'counte redinf ccorporation of. West Applieationjanuary 24, miasg'seria n zsaelzf Qfornibf structure taching the trimlo'r" the liketo 'thewall andhavelates still more particularly'to devices servingto findi'c'ate theapproximate position here the; surface of;the plaster is to bein'lathand plaster ularly at locations where'trim' orthe' j v theconstruc'tionof lath and plaster wans in con-1 nec-tion withf theapplicatiort oftrim or the like forseveral reasons.-

'The v expression trim'* or the like" as used herein" means anypermanent! attachment to thekwall" extending-outwardly from the surface"of the plaster; as}, iforexample, the usual chair rail," shelf ';r'ails, "moldin"g;etc. It is necessary to provide some special means forattachmentof:the'trim or the like, as itis notpracticable tofattachithe'same simply to the" plaster. *It has heretofore been proposed to p ovide attaching; means for trim or the like isuch generally. applied tothe'lath' around the attach ingmeanspand when thezattaching" means is ofinflammable material, 's'uch'asa wood strip, and

vyentiorn in V which;-

surface of the p1aster.'-:

meansto indicatel the" approximatposition ofthe Other details'yfobiectsand'fadvantages of, the

invention will becomefapparentas" the following es i was ered mmdimthereof proceeds,

In heiac mp n ir certain presentpreierr dr t me 1 have shown qdiments oithefin- Figure l is averticaltransverse"cross sectional v view throughaportion of a "wall Cbnstriigtionjf' is a fragmentary 'fconstructionfshownfin. Figur the plaster andapo rtion of thetrirnrjemqve 'i undna ri-a r 4 1 fFig'ure lis a vertiealtransverscross-sectional lei of a portion; oi 'fthe struc for'. example, "as Iwood strips; either "wife 'tie'd over the lath or nailed to wood blockssecured to metal studs," and 'to which; the trim or Ithe like 'isadaptedto beunailed or screwed. Thi'sitype of a construction. is undesirablebecause the at-' taching'means for the trimor the likeih'asto theretobetween the-flangeslthereof; 7

V Figure 6 is ,a verticaltransverse cross-sectional i rm wr i mc s e vFfigmre 511s apeisbq itiv view-Ker a 'portionof viewof; nother 'fo il ijl'qigurei 1s a" vertic' view'ofstill another form of s'tructurein'whichthe space between the flanges of the 'ground plate I is left open toaccommodate wiresand the like. 2

particularly when vthe 'jtrimr also isof wood, the fireproofness of thestructure is greatly reduced.

' Also certain devices for vuse in lath and plaster I studs 2. Each stud2 comprises aweb portion 3 y- Referringnow 'more particularly to thedraw ings, there is illustrated a lath and "plaster wall which ingeneral is of standard construction carried by-gstudding in'the form ofspacedmetal and-opposed flanges 4.] The studs-are arranged in up'rightlposition and are spaced at 7 suitable intervals with their Web portionslying respec 1 tivelyin parallelplanes and their flangeslying injcommonparallel planes; 'In the drawings only 1 I'provide for the attachment oftrim orjthe' like to a lath and 'plasterwall' without impairing thefireproofness"or'soundproofness of the wall and without the necessity ofshimming the attachingmeans or ground means;v which are self-'aligninglj- I preferably attach the ground means directlyv to thestudding which supports the wall; and as the studding is properlyaligned whenfit is 'inst'a lled the g round means is automaticallyproperlyaligned by thestudding; In a preferred usual wooden trimmingstripjor chairmantending around theroom at a'- height of; about 30inches-from the floorl Toprovideforapplication 5 one face of the wall(i. e., that shown at the right-handside oi Figure 1) isshown asfinished.

In an ordinaryisingle partition lathand plaster are applied to both'sides of the studding; although in some cases; as, for example,infurring forexterior Walls or in doublewalls, lath"and'plasterareapplied to only one side of the" stucldin'g iv The wall shown inthedrawingsis provided with trim} showna's being in the form'of the u I Wlfp rovide"aground'devlc readily ,perforable toreceive:ffasteningfmeansfor at e view lq'flthe wall l ith portions or l transversecross-sectional plate and elongated in the direction of elonga- Theflanges are integral por-' tion of the plate. tions of the sheet metalof the plate formed. by bending them up out of the body of the plate andpressing together the opposed portions of the bent up metal, as clearlyshownin Figure 3.

The body of the plate and the flanges thereof are provided withperforations 8 of such size as to receive portions of the plaster of thewall facing to effectively key the plaster to the platepaswill presentlybe described. The outer extremities of I the flanges I serve to indicatethe approximate position of the surface of the plaster in the Wall; andthe flanges also render the'plate strong and rigid. They alsoserve asmeans for indicating where the trim is to be applied and asbearing meansfor the trim. The trim is connected with the ground plate as willpresentlybedescribed. The ground plate is provided in convenient lengthsand cut to length as maybe required in 1 any particular installation.

The plate 6 is wired to the studding 2 by wires 9 passing throughopenings ID in the studs ,and through the perforations 8 in the body ofthe plate 6 lying outside the flanges I. The plate 6 is 'thus attachedto the studding extending around the room or as far as may be desired,after which lathing is applied to the studding and attached thereto in.usual manner. The lathing is shown as being in the form of ex pandedmetal lath l I, which I find bestsuited for the purpose. A section oflath is fastened to the studdingabovethe plate 6 and another section oflath is fastened to the studding below the plate 6. Preferably thelathing overlaps the portions of the body of the plate 6 lying outsidethe respective flanges I. The lathing is shown in the drawings-as beingfastened to the studding by wires 12, 7

After the ground plate and lathing have been applied as above describedthe wall is plastered, the plaster being applied to the lathing in theusual manner and also being applied over the ground plate between andoutside the flanges I thereof. The plaster is'designated by referencenumeral 13. The plaster enters the meshes of the expanded metal lath andkeys thereto, wherebyto form a strong permanent wall facing. The plasteralso enters the openings 8 in the ground plate and keys thereto insimilar manner. Thus there is practically no substantial interruption ofthe plaster over the entire surface of the wall. The only interruptionof the plaster is along the very narrow spaces occupied by the flanges 1of the ground plate 6, but the plaster even passes through the spacedopenings 8 in these flanges. Consequently the soundproofness andfireproofness of the wall are to all intents and purposes as great asthose of a similar wall not having any ground or trim or the likeapplied thereto.

The flanges I of the ground plate '6 project substantially to the wallsurface as shown in Figures 1 and 4 and serve as guide means to indicatethe approximate position of the surface of the-plaster; This assists inpromoting uniwall. The flanges 1 of the plate 5 also serve to strengthenthe wall against force or pressure applied at right angles to the wallbetween studs, as when trim is being attached. Theoretically the outeredges of the flanges 1 lie at the wall surface, although if desired theycan be thinly covered with plaster.

The trim 5 is placed over the ground plate 6 and is fastened to theground plate by screws Preferably the trim is first set temporarily.,-inplace and holes then drilled through the trim,

plaster and ground plate, which is readily perforable, after which thescrews are screwed in to hold the trim in place relative to the groundplate. Preferably tapered screws are used, the holes bored in the groundplate being of such size that the screws will be snugly received thereinwhereby to hold the trim or the like firmly in place. The screwreceiving holes in the ground plate are adapted to receive screws forattaching trim or screws for attaching other means, such as wood strips(see Figure 6),, and in certain of the claims the expression trim or thelike includes means such as wood filler strips.

The flanges of the ground plate serve to'indicate the proper positionfor the trim so that after the wall has been otherwise completed and theplastering finished the trim maybe applied. The trim bears upon theflanges 1 of the plate 6 and ordinarily the inner face of the trim liesdirectly against the outer edges of the flanges. If,',however, the outeredges of the flanges are thinly covered with plaster the inner face ofthe trim may not lie directly in contact with the outer edges of theflanges, but when the screws 14 are tightened up the load will becarried at least mainlyby the ground plate and not by the general bodyof plaster in the wall.

Instead of applying plaster in theQspace between the flanges of theground plate I may .and sometimes'prefer to fill such space with blocksor strips of wood or to partially fillsuchspace with wood and partiallyfill it with plaster. When wood filler strips or blocks are -to beemployed such strips or blocks may be fastened to the groundplate eitherprior to installation thereof, as, for example, at the factory, or inthe field after attachment of the ground plate to the studding, and themeans for attaching the trim or the like may in such case have retentionin thewood strips or blocks only and not necessarily also in the groundplate itself.

In Figure 5'is shown a ground plate l5 of the same general structure asthe ground plate 6 of Figures 1 to 4, inclusive, but having perforationsIt only in the portions of the plate outside the flanges H. .The flangesl1 and the portion of the plate intermediate such flanges are preferablyimperforate, as openings therein would have little or no function,particularly if the Wood filler strip should be applied beforeinstallation, as, for example, at the factory where theground plates aremade. The wood filler strip I8 shown in Figure 5 is of such size as tofit snugly against the ground plate between the flanges thereof andsuchstrip is shown as being "permanently connected with the ground plateby nails l9 passing through the flanges of the ground plate and into theedges of the wood 'filler strip [8. This mannerof attaching the woodfillerstrip to the ground plate is-particularly adaptable for .use whenthe-wood filler strip is attached to the ground'plat at the factory.

In Figure 6 there is shown another form of structure in which the groundplate 20. is imperforate save at the portions thereof lying outside theflanges 2| and is provided with a wood filler strip 22 connected withthe ground plate by j,-

screws 23 which function similarly to the screws M of Figures 1, 2 and 4except that they pass only through the wood filler strip and groundplate and not through the trim. The trim com prises a trim member 24which is nailed to the wood filler strip 22 by nails 25, and also trimmembers 26 and 2'! as shown. The particular; form of the trim, ofcourse, has nobearing on the present invention. I

The substitution of wood for plaster between the flanges of the groundplate does not substantially reduce the soundproofness of the finishedwall with the trim applied as compared with a.

similar finished wall with plaster between the limited thereto but maybe otherwise variously embodied within the scope of the followingclaims.

' The word portionf as used in the claims to denote a projecting part ofthe ground means conwall, theground means having spaced portionsprojecting substantially to the wall surface, lath and plaster facingalso connected with'the studding and whose outer surface defines thewall surface, the facing being discontinuous across the space betweensaid spaced portions of the ground flanges of the ground plate.Moreover, as the I ground plate is made of metal and is substantiallycontinuous the fireproofness of the'wall is not greatly impaired. Asindicated above, if it is known in advance of manufacture that theground plate is to be used with blocks or strips g of wood instead ofplaster between its flanges the portion or portions of the ground plateagainst which the wood lies in use will preferably not be provided withkey openings, although a ground plate as shown in Figure 3 with keyopenings in and intermediateits flanges may beemployed if desired. Keyopenings or perforations are also preferably omitted between the flangesof ground plates whose flanges are not more than about 1" apart.

In Figure '7 there is shown a further modified form of structure inwhich the ground plate may, for example, be of the structure of theground plate ll shown in Figure 5, having key openings only at theportions thereof outside its flanges.

The ground plate in Figure 7 is designated by reference numeral 28 andthe space between its flanges 29 is left open to accommodate wires andthe like. A pair of wires extending longitudinally along the groundplate and lying between the flanges 29 thereof are shown at 3B. The trim3! is shown as being fastened to the ground plate by screws 32functioning similarly to the screws M of Figures 1, 2 and 4. Thescrews32 may enter the ground plate at the portions thereof lyingoutside its flanges 29. When this is done the entire space between theflanges of the ground plate is left free for the reception of wires andthe like- However, such space will seldom be needed in its entirety, andif not it is generally prefere able .to have the screws holding the trimin place enter the imperforate portion of the ground means and suchspace being uninterrupted whereby to provide a conduit for wires and the7 like in thewall, and trim or the like projecting outwardly beyond theouter surface ofthefacing, the trim or the like being fastenedtotheground 7 2. Wall construction, comprising spaced generally uprightstuds, ground means extending generally transversely of the studs andspanning the space between adjacent studs, lath and plaster facing alsospanning the space between adjacent Y studs, and trirnor the likeprojecting outwardly beyond the outer surfaceof the facing, the trim r for the like being fastened to the ground means. 3. Wall construction,comprising spaced studs, aground plate extending" generally transverselyof the studs, individual fastening means fastening the ground plate tothe-respective studs, lath and plaster facing spanning the spacebetweenadjacentstuds, and trim, or the like projecting outwardlybeyondthe outer surface'of the'facing,

the trim or the like'being fastened to the ground J plate. y

4. Wall construction, comprising spaced studs, a ground plate extendinggenerally transversely of the studs and having openings therein for the1 reception of means for fastening the sameto the studs, means enteringsaid openings fastening the ground plate to the studs, lath and plasterfacing spanning the space between adjacent studs and trim or the likeprojecting outwardly beyond the" outer surface of the'facing, the trimor the like being fastened to the ground plate.

5. Wall construction, comprising spaced studs,

a ground plate extending generally transversely" of the studs, theground plate havingspaced portions projecting substantially to the wallsurface,

plate between the flanges of the ground plate. as

shown, as then there will be no danger that the screws may pass throughkey openings in the ground plate instead of through the metal oftheplate itself as is possible when the screws pass through the portions ofthe ground plate lying outside th flanges.

While I have shown and described certain present preferred embodimentsof the invention, it iS.

lath and plaster facing spanning the space between adjacent studs andwhose outer surface defines the wall surface, there being plaster be-*-tween the projecting portions of the groundplate; I and trim. or thelike projecting outwardly beyond the outer surface of the facing, thetrim or the likebearing upon the projecting portions of the ground plateand being fastened to the ground plate.

to be'distinctly. understood that the same is not comprising studding,

ALEXANDERLAC EY. v, I

